KU officials say Williams committed violations

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Roy Williams violated NCAA rules as basketball coach at Kansas by approving payments to graduating players and others who had used up their eligibility, the school said Friday.

After conducting an internal review, the school said Williams -- now preparing for his third season at national champion North Carolina -- approved payments made by three representatives of the university's "athletics interests."

Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins said Williams misunderstood the rules regarding graduating student-athletes.

The school said Dana Anderson, Joan Edwards and Bernard Morgan gave cash and clothing to graduating student athletes and other players who had exhausted their eligibility. About $400 was the most that any player was said to have received. Payments went back to as far as 1998.

"Coach Williams and I discussed this matter some time in the past and will talk again after both of us have had a chance to review the report," North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour said in statement issued Friday. "Coach Williams has a long and distinguished record of running a program with integrity and within NCAA rules. His record for more than 25 years as a college coach clearly demonstrates that to be the case."

Steve Kirschner, a spokesman for North Carolina, said Williams was on a recruiting trip Friday and would release a statement Saturday.

Williams won 418 games in 15 years at Kansas before departing for North Carolina after the 2002-2003 season. He led the Tar Heels to the national championship last season.

Perkins learned of the violations when he happened to help a secretary pick up mail she dropped.

Perkins said he noticed the return address was for Mrs. Joan Edwards, a longtime supporter of the program. He said he asked his secretary if she knew what Mrs. Edwards was sending to the players and was told it was probably graduation cards and small amounts of money.

He then launched his investigation.

Perkins said the boosters who provided the gifts asked Williams if they were within NCAA rules and he told them they were.

"Personally, I think there was a misinterpretation of the rule," he said at a news conference "The student athletes' eligibility was done. It wasn't used as a recruiting tool. Some people would look at it and say, 'Where was the mistake?'

The violation falls under the NCAA's "extra benefit" rule and specifies that once athletes enroll, they are barred for life from receiving gifts from fans.

"The mistake is once a student-athlete, always a student-athlete. So you can't receive any funds or any goods once you graduate," said Perkins. "I really believe it was a misinterpretation. I don't think it was an attempt to gain any advantages."

The violations, which Kansas reported to the NCAA last month, were among several involving the men's and women's basketball programs, and the football program, ending in 2003.

Most of the violations involved arranging for test preparation and transportation for prospective athletes. The school began its investigation on the same day Perkins arrived on the job in June 2003.

The university, which put its athletic department on two years' probation, said the violations wouldn't carry any television or postseason sanctions, but would result in a reduction of scholarships in the football and women's basketball programs.

In a letter dated July 1, the NCAA told the university its staff was reviewing the self-report and conducting follow-up interviews. NCAA vice president David Price told the school the investigation was expected to be completed by the fall.

The men's basketball violation will be addressed through extra education about the rules regarding gifts. No other sanctions against the program are planned.

Perkins said current Kansas coach Bill Self, who replaced Williams, had no knowledge of the gifts.